A sev press is something I bring to every competition, but for some reason have yet to use. We use a sev press daily at Girl & the Goat. At first, we used it just to make Indian sev, which we put on a chaat-inspired chickpea fritter set on the menu. Then we thought, why not put our house masa dough in the sev press….and that’s when “masa sev,” as we call it, was born. The masa sev has the flavor of tortilla chips with the fun texture of crispy noodles, which makes it perfect for a taco salad that’s inspired by my mom. She used to make her version with spiced ground beef and beans topped with a salad mixed with French dressing, plus we were allowed to top it with nacho cheese chips for dinner. I love it for all sorts of reasons – it’s crunchy, flavorful and fun.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 45 min |
| Active: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 cups corn masa flour, such as Maseca
- About 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Neutral oil, for frying
- 1/2 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
- 1 red onion, julienned
- 1 to 2 jalapeños, thinly sliced
- 2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeds shaken out
- 2 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed, seeds shaken out
- 10 dried chile de arbol
- 1/4 cup tamarind pulp
- 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder, such as Knorr
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 pound (or a little more, depending on package) ground beef, 80% lean
- Neutral oil, for the pan
- 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon powder, such as Knorr
- Half of a 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 1/4 cups Japanese-style mayonnaise, such as Kewpie
- 1/2 to 1 head iceberg lettuce, cut into thick shreds
- Finely shredded sharp Cheddar
- Pitted black olives, such as niçoise or kalamata, roughly chopped
- Diced tomato
- Diced avocado
- Chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- For the crispy masa noodles: Mix together the masa flour, water and salt until the mixture has the texture of wet playdough. Cover and let rest 20 minutes to hydrate.
- Heat a fryer or heavy-bottomed pot with 2 to 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees F. Put about 1 cup of dough in the sev press at a time and press into the hot oil. Fry until crispy, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and hold until ready to eat. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- For the pickles: Heat the vinegar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan until boiling. Place the red onion and jalapeños in a jar or heatproof container. Pour over the hot liquid and press the vegetables into the liquid. Let sit until at room temperature, up to 2 hours, then refrigerate. The pickles can hold, refrigerated, for up to 7 days. (These are easy to make the day ahead, but also can be used after about 15 minutes.)
- For the marinade. Bring about 2 cups of water to a boil in a small pot. Turn off the heat, add the ancho chiles, guajillo chiles and chile de arbol and submerge. Let steep until soft, about 10 minutes.
- Add the strained chiles to a blender with 1 cup of the soaking water, then add the tamarind, chicken powder and coriander and blend on high until smooth (put a towel over the blender lid to be safe). Let cool.
- For the marinated beef: Put the beef in a bowl and add 1/2 cup of the chile marinade (reserve the remaining marinade for the dressing).
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat with a splash of oil. Add the beef, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon and sprinkling it with the chicken bouillon powder, and cook until browned, 7 to 8 minutes. If there’s a lot of oil, you can drain it if you prefer, but a little is tasty. Add the beans and heat until warmed through.
- For the dressing: To the remaining the marinade, whisk in the mayonnaise and 2 tablespoons of the pickling liquid from the onions.
- For the salad: All the salad ingredients are up to you! They can be served family style or individually: lettuce, shredded Cheddar, olives, tomatoes and avocado.
- For plating: Put the beef and beans in bottom of the bowl. Toss the salad generously with the dressing, mixing in the pickled onions and jalapenos or serving them on top. Top with a bunch of the masa noodles. Garnish with an extra drizzle of dressing and chopped cilantro.